Red Alert
by PrincetonOrBust
Summary: A young lieutenant is left with a massive problem. (Oneshot, AU, multiple OCs)


The red alert sirens began to go off as I rushed through the corridors. My com chirped, and I tapped it. "Go ahead."

"Lieutenant Castellan," the head of Engineering began frantically. "We're having difficulty contacting the bridge, no one is answering. Do you know anything about the situation?"

"No, sir, I don't. I was just on my way there, I can contact you when I arrive," I replied, walking up to the turbolift. The doors refused to open. "Commander, the turbolift isn't opening, is there a problem I'm not aware of?"

"Lieutenant, we are experiencing some difficul—"

Suddenly, the line went dead. "Commander?" There was no response.

I pulled aside the closest ensign I could get my hands on: a young girl, probably a year younger than me, bouncy blue curls and dark blue skin. Sciences.

"Ensign, do you know of a problem in Engineering?" I demanded. She shook her head.

"If there is, I haven't heard of it, sir. But I'm unable to contact sickbay or the bridge," she added worriedly. I nodded.

"Right. Thank you."

A massive explosion shook the ship, and we fell to the ground. The lights flickered, then went out. My com beeped again, and I smacked my hand on it.

"Lieutenant!" a young male voice said quietly. "This is the bridge, we're being attacked, and you're the highest ranking officer that I can get a hold of! The captain and everyone else here has been beamed to the enemy ship, we can't contact them anymore. You need to come up here right now!"

"Who is this?" I demanded, coughing. I stood up and leaned against the wall as the emergency lights came on.

"Ensign Ahsika, sir. Tactical."

"Well, Ahsika, the turbolift isn't working, and—"

"I'll beam you over, sir, just a moment, let me get a lock on you…"

I turned to the ensign I was with. "You, go try and find a higher ranking officer than me, send him to the bridge immediately. Contact me when you get him."

"Yes, sir," she chirped, then ran off. Perfect timing, for the next moment I found myself on the bridge. Consoles were smoking, and I saw an Andorian girl, red uniform, lying on the floor, her ankle twisted severely. I cringed at the sight of it.

"Ahsika, I presume?"

"That's me," she replied, forcing a pained grin.

"Update, please," I demanded, sitting in the captain's chair. I felt rather invasive and uninvited, but if someone came, I would just explain the situation.

"We'd just re-entered the sector, when an unidentified ship uncloaked. We were hailed via voice frequency, and it was a jumbled mess. We managed to translate it just as the captain and the entire bridge crew, except for me, was beamed to who-knows-where. I assume it was the enemy ship, but I can't be sure, sir."

"What was the message?" I asked.

"It was just numbers. Three, forty, nine, two-oh-one, seventeen."

"Computer, what is the significance of that?" I asked.

A pause, then the response: "No significance found."

"Damn," I muttered. Ahsika glanced at the console.

"Sir, we're being hailed," she announced, propping herself up in the seat.

"Well go ahead, then. I assume it's only voice?"

"No, it's…it's actually visual this time, sir," she corrected, confused at the change.

"On-screen then, I suppose."

The screen flicked on, and a shadowed figure was revealed. I couldn't make out the face, but I recognised a male being when it spoke.

"You are the USS Tesla, I presume?" it began, voice scratchy and deep.

"Yes, we are a Federation ship," I replied. "I am the acting captain, Lieutenant Alex Castellan. Where is our crew?"

"Oh, a woman in command?" the creature scoffed. "Humans are so petty."

"Where is our crew?" I demanded once more.

"We had a bit of a…_malfunction_…with our transporters. We cannot retrieve them. My deepest apologies," he said, laughing heartily.

I practically saw red in my sudden anger. "Ahsika, shields up. You mean to tell me that you took our crew, and because you didn't take enough care—"

"Calm yourself, Lieutenant!" the creature laughed.

"Sir, their shields are up as well. They're firing phasers."

"Ahsika, how many life signs on the ship?"

"Only four, sir. None are ours."

I clenched my jaw. "How quaint. Fire a couple photon torpedoes right onto their bridge."

"Y-yes, sir!"

The red projectiles were sent out, zooming toward the ship. My stone-cold gaze never faltered as the enemy ship caught fire, then exploded.

"Ahsika, red alert off," I commanded. "Hail Starfleet Command."

We waited in silence, and then Admiral Quinn's face appeared on the view screen.

"Captain, how good to - L-lieutenant…where is the crew?" Admiral Quinn asked. "What's going on?"

I bit my lip nervously. "Sir, we've been attacked by an unknown enemy. The majority of our crew was transported to the enemy ship and the enemy lost the signal. They're all gone, sir. I've attempted to find a higher ranking officer than myself, but so far I haven't been able to. Ahsika here contacted me and I came to the bridge; we confronted the enemy and he fired on us. We returned fire and destroyed their ship."

The admiral looked at me, then to Ahsika, then back to me. "…and you wish to know what Starfleet wants you to do now?"

"Yes, sir."

"Are you able to repair the ship with the remaining crew?"

"I believe so."

"Keep the ship, Lieutenant Castellan. I'll contact you later with further instructions. For now, go about your typical duties. You will remain as acting captain for as long as I see fit."

The view screen turned off, leaving us with an eerily tranquil view of empty space.

I sighed, sitting back in the captain's chair – no, _my _chair. I pressed a button on the armrest to signal the entire ship.

"This is Lieutenant Alex Castellan," I announced. "I have been promoted to acting captain…" I gave the entire spiel over again, in less detail than before.

After the announcement, I contacted sickbay, and they transported Ahsika over. I contacted every division on the ship (which, to be honest, really wasn't that many; we were a very small ship and crew to begin with), and it seemed that no one ranked above myself.

This was going to be a long, hard repair.


End file.
